What's In My Travel Beauty Bag: Two Weeks in Iceland

As you're reading this, we will have actually been in Iceland for over 10 days - but thanks to the magic of scheduling posts in advance, you get to see the contents of my beauty bag before they're actually put to use. Like I've mentioned in my previous pregnancy update post, we're currently on vacation; it's long been our dream to see Iceland's spectacular outdoors  for a couple years now, and we've finally pulled the trigger (and yes, I'm hoping to take you along via my Instagram - so go follow if you're interested!).

Before I dive into which beauty products I'm bringing with me, let me tell you a little bit about the trip itself. We're flying from NYC into Reykjavik and staying in the city for two nights, but after that we're hiring a car and hitting the Ring Road, which is a highway circling the entire island that lets you access all areas of the country. We'll be driving shorter distances every day for 12 days, staying in a different town every night or two. In case you didn't know, Iceland doesn't have a huge population, and most of it is concentrated in the capital city - which means that the other towns we'll be visiting are rather small and the accomodations are more along the lines of a B&B than a chain hotel.

Which is why I've decided to pack most of my bathroom essentials into this hanging bag (it was a gift with purchase from Dermalogica a few years ago, but I'm sure you can find a similar one on Amazon). From practice, I know that I can pack more into a regular pouch without any compartments, and that's what I prefer when we stay in one accomodation for the whole duration of a trip. However, for travelling around, I think this bag will be more handy - I can hang it in the bathroom, easily take out only what I need at any given time, and quickly repack everything when we're ready to head out in the morning.

I've decided to pack all of my skincare, haircare and make-up brushes into this bag; I'll have a separate make-up bag (which also makes sense as I rarely do my make-up in the bathroom) and one more pouch for bodycare and bulkier extras like a hair brush, deodorant or contact lens solution. The mesh bag I keep my make-up brushes in snaps off easily, so that I can keep it with my make-up bag but protect the brushes a bit more than if they were just floating loose among other products.

The top two compartments contain smaller items: the topmost has just a few foil sachets with different face masks (because maaaybe I'll remember to use them some time...? At least after and before our flights?), the other one houses q-tips, cotton squares, a catridge for my razor and a lip balm.

The two larger bottom compartments contain all of my main skincare and haircare products. They're sort of mixed all together because I was packing to fit the dimensions of the bag. For my face, I'm mostly following my standard skincare routine (recent posts about the AM and PM regimes here): I'll be removing make-up with the Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Cleansing Oil (small green bottle) and following with the First Aid Beauty Facial Cleanser for the second cleanse, or first cleanse in the morning. I've filled the spray bottle with my Pixi Glow Tonic (reviewed here), and after that, I'll pat in some SK-II First Treatment Essense* (review) for a boost of hydration. Lastly, I have two serums to choose between: the Paula's Choice C15 Booster and the Dermalogica Hydrating Booster, as well as two moisturizers: the Nuxe Creme Fraiche de Beaute* (reviewed here, for nighttime or to layer with) and the Paula's Choice Hydralight Daily Mineral Complex SPF30* (review). The weather in Iceland at this time of the year is still quite cold, so I'm not packing a separate sunscreen for the body - I doubt much of my skin will be exposed at any given time.

For my hair, I'm only taking four products. I'll be sharing my travel sizes of Pacifica Beauty Super Kale Juiced-Up Shampoo* & Conditioner* with my husband, and to help detangle my hair after washing, I'll be using the 12 Benefits Instant Healthy Hair Treatment* spray I received in a Glossybox a long time ago. I also can't go anywhere without a bottle of my trusty Batiste Dry Shampoo to extend the freshness of my hair between washes.

And that's it! The bag still folds comfortably and it isn't too big and bulky - my suitcase isn't very large and I need the extra space for warm weather clothes and boots (and btw, I had to take my husband's snowboarding jacket - I no longer fit into any of my winter jackets, lol). I'm super excited about our Icelandic getaway! How do you usually pack your skincare for travel?